A DRUGS courier who was arrested by plain-clothes police as he stepped off the train at Droitwich railway station has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Jordan Brophy was caught at Droitwich as he got off the train from Liverpool carrying more than £1,000 worth of heroin, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Brophy had been paid £100 to carry the drugs and his sole task was to hand them over to a third party in Droitwich, Simon Brotherton, prosecuting, told the court.

But the police had been tipped off and were waiting for him following surveillance, the court heard. He was taken to Worcester police station and 13.8 grams of heroin were found in a wrap hidden in an inside pocket of his waistband. Mr Brotherton said the heroin had a street value of £1,380.

Brophy, of Penman Crescent, Halewood, Liverpool, changed his plea to guilty of possession with intent to supply on the day of a trial. He said his only involvement had been to carry the drugs to Droitwich on December 5 last year.

Stephen Parker, defending, said Brophy had been in custody since March 30 and his first experience of prison had been difficult. He was not a heroin user and he regretted getting involved when some associates offered him the cash to make the delivery.

Mr Parker said someone must have told the police what was going on because they were waiting for him at the station.

He had been employed at Jaguar Land Rover in Liverpool for six months but was dismissed when a previous offence came to light and he had not worked since.

"I hope there is some light at the end of the tunnel for him," Mr Parker said.

Judge Robert Juckes, QC, said Brophy had been trusted with a significant and valuable quantity of drugs to bring from Liverpool for sale in this area.

"The court does everything it can to make people aware that if they deal in drugs they will go to jail," he said.